origins

noun

plural of origin
1
as in sources
a point or place at which something is invented or provided the origins of human language remain a matter of considerable debate

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in roots
the source from which something grows or develops the origin of the tradition of giving presents at Christmastime

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in lineages
the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended they could trace their origins back 15 generations

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of origins As indie pop became glossier and more fleshed out in the 1990s, few bands embraced its minimal, melancholy origins like the Cat’s Miaow. — David Glickman, Pitchfork, 11 Nov. 2026 Gary Soffer, director of the integrative medicine program at Smilow Cancer Hospital, explained the origins to VeryWell Mind. — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 11 Nov. 2026 While their precise origins remain unknown, Elizabeth wore them on several occasions, including the State Opening of Parliament in 2012. — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 8 Nov. 2026 Ending the litigation now will forestall that process to detail the origins of the administration’s list — which is still being used by federal prosecutors in California to target individual voters for criminal prosecution. — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026 True to its mission as a showcase for emerging talent, and its origins as the Festival Internazionale Cinema Giovani (literally, the Festival of Young Cinema), stories of youth abound. — Ben Croll, Variety, 6 Nov. 2026 The origins of Caddix trace back to former Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles tearing the ACL in his right knee in October 2015. — CBS News, 6 Nov. 2026 But the meteoric takeoff of karaoke has soared far past its humble—and slightly murky—origins. — Skyli Alvarez, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Nov. 2026 However, researchers could not determine the exact origins of the particles. — The Sacramento Bee Staff, Sacbee.com, 3 Nov. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for origins
  1. sources
  2. roots
  3. lineages
  4. cradles
  5. beginnings
  6. ancestries
  7. pedigrees
  8. genealogies
Noun
  • Losing research capacity weakens our ability to generate the next sources of economic growth.
    — Carole LaBonne, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Depending on the provider and plan, these services can monitor multiple sources of information and send alerts when something needs your attention.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of sources
Noun
  • Pump Social’s roots The dream come true all started for the Donners with time spent in California’s wine country, learning and growing professionally.
    — Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 11 Nov. 2026
  • The behemoth agency, which traces its roots to the Civil War, is both the country’s largest healthcare system and one of its most effective.
    — Eric Umansky, ProPublica, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of roots
Noun
  • As ecologist Doug Tallamy has chronicled, over 90% of herbivorous insects specialize on one or a few native plant lineages.
    — Pedro Moura, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Farms spend decades breeding mink to develop unique genetic lineages.
    — Nat Lash, ProPublica, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of lineages
Noun
  • The books below will satisfy your bog witch cravings, while also reminding you of the real-world importance of bogs as bulwarks against climate change, cradles of biodiversity, and keepers of ancestral memory.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Soft, dynamic cushioning cradles your feet with every step while providing maximum support, providing transition assistance between launch and landing.
    — Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of cradles
Noun
  • Amin Joseph is 46, playing Sonny Liston, who was in his early-to-mid 30s, but Liston was an old 33, having spent years in prison after his rough and impoverished beginnings.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The women to Vermont State-Castleton in overtime, the men to Johnson & Wales, but this was a night about beginnings, everything that happened a first.
    — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of beginnings
Noun
  • But Shanes questioned whether grouping Jews under a single ethnic category would produce sufficiently specific data for those purposes, or instead obscure differences among Jewish populations with distinct ancestries.
    — Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • This technique overcomes limitations of older methods like genotyping arrays, which were often biased towards European ancestries and less accurate.
    — William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of ancestries
Noun
  • American breeders began registering Holstein pedigrees and maintaining herdbooks in the 1800s.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Global flavors with local pedigrees provide the secret sauce for Seattle’s culinary scene.
    — Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of pedigrees
Noun
  • To anyone accustomed to the usual genealogies of either Judd or late-twentieth-century architecture, his choice of Alexander might have been startling.
    — Julian Rose, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Sometimes, though, these genealogies of behavior can seem beside the point, serving only to dull one’s analysis of the situation.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of genealogies

Browse Nearby Words

originators
origins
orison
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Cite this Entry

“Origins.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/origins. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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